Jan Hugo plays Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto no 3 with the CPO at the Endler on Friday at 20:00. Based in Europe now, he doesn’t play too much in South Africa so this is a great chance to hear him. Book at Computicket. Read what the Cape Times wrote here.

Masidlale wows Mamre

In the year end concert showcasing all six Masidlale satellites on the werf of the Moravian Church in Mamre last Saturday, the audience was both inspired and moved as each one showed what they can do. There were many close to tears at the end of Silent Night, in which they all played and the audience sang along. Guests included Pedro Espi, and we were joined by Xylofun and the Liron Music Academy.

Summer Music Festival - Renewal period ending soon

Renewals of subscriptions for the 11th Cape Town International Summer Music Festival, supported by the City of Cape Town, will be closing on December 5. If you cannot renew for the summer series but want to keep your seats for the autumn season, you must please notify luvuyo@cpo.org.za. More about the season here.

FOM's latest (welcome) donation

Derek Auret, chairman of FOM, presented CEO of the orchestra, Louis Heyneman, with a cheque for R300 000. As Heyneman said, the friends are one of the most important allies of the CPO without which the orchestra would find it hard to achieve sustainability for the sake of generations of young musicians to come. Thank you, FOM!

11th International Summer Music Festival

The dynamic British pianist Paul Lewis will open the 11th Cape Town Summer Music Festival presented by the CPO.
He will play the Brahms Piano Concerto no 1 with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. The festival, which takes place over two weeks from January 26 to February 5, will feature four concerts, three conducted by Arjan Tien, the fourth by CPO resident conductor Brandon Phillips. All concerts take place at the Cape Town City Hall at 20:00, preceded by pre-concert talks at 19:15 on the evening’s works by Rodney Trudgeon with the exception of the opening concert when Trudgeon will be out of town.
Please note that dress rehearsals for all concerts will take place at 11 am on the day of the concert, not at 10 am as has been the case to now. Read more.

Brandon Phillips in Moscow

From 28 degrees to 0, that’s another learning curve for resident conductor Brandon Phillips who is spending this week in Moscow and St Petersburg.
This trip is part of a Russian/South African season cultural exchange between Russia and South Africa initiated by the Government and arranged by the Department of Arts and Culture.
Russia sent a group of 46 musicians to SA earlier this month and South Africa’s return bout offers includes singers, dancers and instrumentalists, who will perform with Russian orchestras in those two cities. It’s a sort of potted history of SA through music, with performers such as Zandile Mzazi, Tim Moloi, Gloria Bosman, Mzansi Youth Choir, Moving into Dance and Dizu Plaatjies.

Nederburg Magic on New Year's Eve

Here’s an update on Melanie Scholtz, one of the line-up of exciting singers with the CPO.

UBER offer to CPO concertgoers

To make the concertgoing experience less stressful, we have partnered with Uber to get all guests to and from concerts safely and in style!
All new users can sign up with the promotional code: CPOUber, in order to receive a free first concert ride up to R100. To request your ride, simply download the free application for iPhone, Android, Blackberry 7, Windows Phone, or visit the mobile site: m.uber.com.
Uber is an on-demand service that seamlessly connects you with a private driver at the tap of a button. For queries, please contact Uber at support@uber.com

The new Steinway arrives

With bated breath, we watched the brand new Model D Steinway being carried up the steps on to the stage at the City Hall, unwrapped and assembled and finally tried! This much-needed new concert grand was a purchase of faith – a donation from Naspers seeded it but we need classical music lovers to sponsor a key at R18 000. More information from info@cpo.org.za and please tell your friends. The piano will be inaugurated by pianist Paul Lewis at the first concert of the 11th International Summer Music Festival on January 26. The picture shows CEO Louis Heyneman and Garth Hammer of Ian Burgess-Simpson who facilitated the arrival. It’s Garth’s job to tune it now!

CPO's Viennese New Year - January 7 and 14

It wouldn’t be the end of the festive season if you couldn’t be transported to Vienna by Richard Cock and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra for its Viennese New Year! This year, Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna, will take place twice in Cape Town at the City Hall on Saturday, January 7 at 3 pm and 7 pm. There will also be a third concert on Saturday, January 14, at the Oude Libertas Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch. The orchestra will enchant you with some of the loveliest melodies by Strauss, father and son, and other Viennese favourites, while soprano Siphamandla Yakupa and tenor Lukhanyo Moyake will sing popular opera arias. Concertmaster Patrick Goodwin will be a soloist too. Also on the programme are dancers from Cape Town City Ballet, to add that typical Viennese New Year’s Day concert flair. Richard Cock will be on the podium to conduct those lively waltzes, polkas and marches you know and love.
Tickets for the City Hall concerts are from R75 to R160 from Computicket on 0861 915 8000/ www.computicket.com and Artscape Dial-A-Seat 021 421 7695. For Oude Libertas, the ticket price is R220.

Green Point Symphonic Picnic - December 18

The Cape Town Philharmonic will be back at the Green Point Track on Sunday, December 18, with a cool way to chill in this heated festive season. Picnic with your family and then listen to the CPO with singers Brandon October, Janelle Visagie, Siphamandla Yakupa and Lukhanyo Moyake, with Sterling EQ, the electric ensemble with an international following. On the podium will be the CPO’s resident conductor, Brandon Phillips, in the concert supported by the City of Cape Town. Read more.

CPYO's Mishkaah Amien's musical journey

While the pain of apartheid still surrounds some, others have had the courage to take the past and create a future. A member of the CPYO since 2009, violinist Mishkaah Amien, was inspired and influenced by her great grandmother, Janap Daniels, who as a seamstress at Artscape in the early days, producing costumes that helped create an international reputation, never saw them on stage for she was not allowed to attend opera at Artscape. So when Mishkaah was able to perform on stage in La Traviata with CPYO at the Suidoosterfees in 2016 at Artscape, she felt wonderful. Her art is being exhibited at UCT on December 2 as part of Mishkaah’s final post-graduate diploma in fine arts at UCT/Michaelis exam. Mishkaah says her involvement with the CPYO is “an aspect of my identity that I know my great-grandmother would have supported and encouraged …. It was at this crucial cultural space that we both developed a fascination with the performing arts and classical music that I continue to this day in my own career.”

Classic Reconciliation concert...with FMR

A groundbreaking concert takes place with the CPYO …. One of reconciliation through harmony and music will take place on December 16 at Yellow Wood Primary School in Mitchell’s Plain at 14:00. Dialogue with No-Name Initiative forms part of the concert which is aimed at bringing communities closer and healing the divisions our history has wrought. Musically, you couldn’t do better – German maestro Thomas Lange and pianist Leo Gevisser will give you Mozart, while Lange will take the CPYO through Barber Adagio and Bartok’s Romanian folk songs. The CPYO is collaborating with Fine Music Radio who will transport concertgoers from Cape Town to Mitchell’s Plain and back.
Tickets for this benefit concert which includes transport and snacks are R150 and can be obtained through www.fmr.co.za. R50 tickets will be sold at the door for this benefit concert for CPYO and NNI Ignite.

Cell phone photography

While we know technology is all-important, it does upset many concertgoers who do not like to see bright screens, whether from taking pictures of wonderful concerts, tweeting or checking emails during concerts. May we ask you to please put your phones away when the concert begins. Taking pictures without flash when the last notes have sounded and the audience is applauding is, of course, fine! But no videos, ever.